What is the single most distinguishing feature of South Florida?

It’s not tourists, not retirees, nor the humidity.

It’s the flatness – this country is incredibly flat. In many ways, living down here is a lot like living in a kind of Flatland (remember that story?). Consequently, like for so many, my photography was also seemingly trapped in just “two dimensions”. In my quest for a new angle, I have gone to some modest heights to bring back interesting images from the third dimension.

Think of this as low altitude but with a higher attitude!

After seeing my Aerial VR Panoramics, large format prints and unique birds-eye views of the Everglades, people are always asking me how I do it. When I first wrote this some years ago, it was called Pole Aerial Photography. Today with ubiquitous selfie sticks in every tourist’s hand, it could be called Really Long Selfie Stick Photography! 😉

While I certainly did not invent the pole photography idea, I have however developed & perfected my own technique.

Also, as far as I’m aware, I may well have been the first to apply this type of aerial photography technique to the outback Everglades and especially from the seat of a moving kayak!

.

In the middle of the Everglades with a 6 foot monopod and dslr/fisheye.

.

Using what I already had, at first I started with a 6 foot monopod and a DLSR cam with a fisheye lens. This was roughly equivalent to a selfie stick with an action cam but with much better resolution. It produced some interesting enough results that I decided I definitely needed more ALTITUDE !

I am describing to you my method and only what has worked for me. Use any and all information at your OWN RISK! If you decide to try some aerial photography, know that what goes up must come down. Use common sense and be mindful of your surroundings and aware of the situation you are in! There is a real risk of TOTAL equipment loss!

Think, twice – no three times before deciding to do anything like this in a populated area and watch out for power lines and trees!

Doing some research, I looked at kites, balloons, even model airplanes and Drones. My criteria were simply that it be cheap, simple, portable, reliable and safe. Between all the factors, like cost, size, portability, choice of cam, charging batteries, etc .. most people today opt for some type of a Drone. However, for my application the pole does have it’s merits as Drones are not allowed in national parks! I therefore decided to carry forward this principle but on a much longer scale.

.

On a beach, preparing to set up the BIG pole. But first .. we joust! 😉

.

Kites and balloons will go as high as you care, but after a certain height, your pics will all start to look a lot like Google Earth closeups. In terms of height, a pole could be 15, 25 even 35 feet tall. My method then is very much low altitude, yet enough attitude to convey that elevated bird’s-eye view. It also relies on quite a bit of post processing to get the best results, so it may not be for everybody!

.

With a pole planted on the ground, even aerial night shots are sometimes possible!

.

A typical DSLR cam with a fisheye lens is a combination that can weigh 4 to 5 lbs. That doesn’t sound like a lot, until you hang those 5 lbs on the end of a stick 25 feet away – that’s when leverage comes into play. I eventually moved on to a small mirrorless cam with fisheye, which weighs only a fraction of that.

.

Big pole, 25 ft version for DSLR/fisheye.

.

Regardless of the cam, one thing that quickly becomes apparent, is that the longer the pole, the more leverage and torque will need to be exerted to raise/lower and keep steady. It’s just simple physics and there needs to be a counter-weight at the base. Keep in mind that even with the counterweight it’s always a handful, sometimes very difficult to handle if there’s wind!

The downside to a heavy base foot is that it tends to sink into the soft mud! I had a real close call this one time in the middle of nowhere just as I was raising the BIG pole, when all of a sudden the force pushed me down into the soft mud to my knees! I was stuck! Pole over the shoulder with a camera dangling 25 feet away and no way to move. As I contemplated my options, the foot suddenly kicked up, which meant that the top went down, and so the cam just ever so “kissed” one of the many sea water puddles in the low tide mud flat. At that point I knew I had to act fast and pushed against the pole, prying myself out of the mud, racing to the dunked cam, fearing a “kiss of death” total loss. Well it did get wet, but by chance hit the back lcd screen. Clearing off any liquid, I rubbed some hand sanitizer alcohol gel into the buttons. Camera was acting spastic, going though menus all by itself, it was shorted! That was the end of that session!

In a desperate effort, I later actually re-wet the back of the cam with some fresh water & after more alcohol and several drying cycles it works perfectly to this day. Moral of the story?

Watch your STEP and need MORE counterweight! 😉

.

To actually take the pics, the cam is set on a timer that takes a pic every few seconds. As the cam keeps taking pics, supporting and stabilizing the pole becomes the primary objective. It’s actually a good amount of work and I feel less a photographer and more like a technician gathering the data points.

.

Setting the intervalometer function on the cam.

.

This muck can suddenly disappear from under your feet and you will be down to your knees!

On my 20 ft sea kayak, the pole sections just fit on the foredeck and are light enough not to effect anything significantly. The heavy counterweight foot rides at the bottom of the back hatch, nicely also lowering overall CG and stability feel in 4 – 6 foot seas that I’m willing to paddle in!

.

The Banana Boat easily carries the BIG poles on the deck, then again, she’s 20ft long!

.

Raising the BIG early 34 footer version at Cape Romano.

.

The BIG pole now stands at 34 feet (10 meters), but I am looking to get even higher. Eventually it’s gonna top out at just over 40 feet tall which I feel will be the final “safe” limit! The BIG pole is always used planted on the ground, so it’s much more stable than the hand held versions.

.

At work, with the 34 foot BIG pole.

.

Pole on the rocks on Biscayne Bay.

.

Sometimes you get a surprise shot accidentally as the cam keeps taking pics .. until you turn it off.

Shark Point chickee aerial done with the BIG pole.Shark Point Chickee on Florida Bay!

.

:WARNING:

I am describing to you my method and only what has worked for me. Use any and all information at your OWN RISK! If you decide to try some aerial photography, know that what goes up must come down. Use common sense and be mindful of your surroundings and aware of the situation you are in! There is a real risk of TOTAL equipment loss!

Think, twice – no three times before deciding to do anything like this in a populated area and watch out for power lines and trees!

Below: Result aerial panorama over Bradley Key from about 28 feet up!

.

Aerial birds-eye view of point on Bradley Key point in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park (just a couple of miles west of Flamingo). This key is named in honor of Guy Bradley, an Audubon Warden shot and killed by bird poachers about 100 years ago – one of the defining moments that led to the establishment of Everglades National Park!CLICK for VR 360 aerial panoramic!Large panoramic prints also available!

Your choice of camera will dictate how high you can go. Action cams like the GoPro series are very light & would seem like a good choice, but they are really meant for filming. For stills, they, along with camera phones aren’t the best choice if you want to make large prints and do post processing. On the other end full size DSLRs will give great image quality at the cost of size & weight. The newer breeds of the “mirrorless” cams with a matching fisheye lens hit the sweet spot. I’m still using the Pentax Q which gives excellent results and is the lightest smallest cam that accepts a dedicated fisheye lens. It’s also real fun to use and surprisingly versatile.

The Q is the “little cam that could!”

The Pentax Q is so tiny, it’s smaller than your iPhone and lots of times people don’t even notice that there’s a camera at the end of that big ol’pole.. 😉

At Fisheating Creek with my “hiking” pole and cam of choice: the Pentax Q with fisheye!

.

This is the shortest pole I have and the only one I paid for. It’s a painter’s pole from a hardware store and goes up to 16 ft with a super light tip. The yellow pole is automatically an instant conversation starter wherever and whenever people are around! Actual hiking with the pole in practice means carrying it much like one would a long spear! I bet I could fight off a bear with it, or at least take it’s picture~ 😉

.

The Pentax Q is a tiny mirrorless cam pictured with the 03 fisheye lens.It’s an excellent choice for aerial photography! 🙂

Eye-level perspective vs. birds-eye!

:REALITY CHECK:

Sometimes, despite best care, it’s the little unexpected things that will get you. Recently while doing my aerial pole photography thing in another part of the world, everything was going great until I stepped off a 3 foot boulder which then unexpectedly shifted, causing me to step off the wrong way and nearly breaking my ankle. That hurt really bad (but I expect to recover fully – T.G!). In the middle of the incident I let go the pole and my Pentax Q hit the rocky ground – breaking the rear LCD glass.

.

The Pentax Q “patient” is alive .. but awaits an LCD glass transplant!

.

Enjoy and keep it SAFE friends!

.

.

.

:WARNING:

I am describing to you my method and only what has worked for me. Use any and all information at your OWN RISK! If you decide to try some aerial photography, know that what goes up must come down. Use common sense and be mindful of your surroundings and aware of the situation you are in! There is a real risk of TOTAL equipment loss!

Think, twice – no three times before deciding to do anything like this in a populated area and watch out for power lines and trees!

All rights reserved!

…

DISCLAIMER:: The maps and images on this site are not intended for navigation, I am not a guide; use any and all information at your own risk! Your mileage may vary .. so use good judgement before venturing out!

With that said.. Blessings friends!

Share this:

Like this:

Great training blog on your technique. Thanks. I have tried the kite bit, but you can’t count on the wind for help. I have used a GoPro with a pole; but between bad batteries and not enough practice, NOT MUCH.
– THANKS, Scott

I put a Nikon 7000 on a 12 foot painters pole. Attached to the camera is a small box that plugs in and transmits an image from the camera to a small wireless viewer that is effective quite a distance away. Seeing what the camera see is a big advantage when taking the pics. The viewer also can trigger the camera to take the picture.

Also curious about your pole that is lightweight yet rigid enough not to be bouncing around with the camera attached. Also I use a Pole Pixie to attach the camera to the painter pole. If you dont know what that is its an aluminum piece that has a coarse broom thread on one end and a 20 thread on the other end to attach a tripod head to. It then attaches to your camera
.

Hi Paul, thanks for your comments. Your setup with a DSLR sounds interesting especially if you’re not using a fisheye or ultra-wide lens. I’ve found that with the fisheye aim isn’t critical, just need a lot of overlap. I have something similar to the pixie adapter that I use with my shortest pole, it works good. This brings me back to weight – I moved on to the lightest setup, including the cam, lens and angle head. I’m preparing a follow-up story on the technical aspects, look for it here shortly!

Thanks for your reply. I also have a couple GoPro 3 cameras and putting one on a very tall pole similar to yours would be pretty easy. What is your pole? Its more than a painters pole so Im curious how I can purchase one. Here is the problem. I want something I can set up. I found a 12 foot pole is the maximum one I can easily handle. Longer than that and its difficult to set it up. Over the 12 or even 15-18 foot length and Im baffled. Id like something that will close down to about 6 feet in height and telescope out to 30 feet (would be nice). Is that possible with your pole?